Washington High School Graduate Linda Smith Inducted Into Missouri Sports Hall of Fame
Washington High School alumna Linda Smith was inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame during the Hall of Fame’s Women’s Sports Luncheon on Wednesday, April 20, at the Oasis Hotel and Convention Center in Springfield.
A graduate of Washington High School and Missouri State University, Linda served three big-league organizations over the course of a 46-year career. She spent the bulk of her time in Kansas City, logging 37 seasons with the Royals, including each of the organization’s two World Series championship campaigns in 1985 and 2015. She wore a number of different hats during her time at Kauffman Stadium, filling roles in the Royals’ public relations, group sales and marketing departments over her initial 20-year term (1972-1992) before transitioning to the scouting and player development realm.
Smith spent the next nine years assisting the scouting departments of the Atlanta Braves and Texas Rangers. She returned to Kansas City in 2001, overseeing the day-to-day operations of the Royals’ scouting department and assisting with the preparation and execution of the club’s amateur draft efforts each June until her retirement in 2017.
Smith received the Special Recognition Award from the Greater Midwest Scouts Association in 2007 for her dedication and commitment to professional baseball.
“I was stunned. It’s not the type of thing that usually happens to somebody in an administrative role. Stunned is the best word I can give you,” Smith told mlb.com after learning that she would be inducted. “It’s an amazing honor. Certainly something I never would have expected.”
In November of 2021, School District of Washington Parents as Teachers Coordinator Sandi Gildehaus and the Borgia Cheerleading Program also was inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame.
Washington High School alumna Linda Smith was inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame. (mlb.com photo).